• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.263-272
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that might distinguish those who have a high level of Intention to purchase each of domestic, foreign designer and national brand jeans from those who have a low intention in terms of evaluative criteria belief, ideal jeans image and clothing altitude. The sample consisted of 198 male and 197 female students from five universities in Seoul. The questionnnaire consisted of 50 seven-point semantic differential scales dealing with evaluative criteria and ideal jeans image, beliefs about and intention to purchase domestic, foreign designer and foreign national brand jeans and 25 Likert type clothing attitude scales. Based on a series of t-tests the results showed that color and design were the most influencing factor among the evaluative criteria belief, regardless of brand type, while durability, accessory, sewing were the least. Sexy image, brand consciousnees and fashion interest were the important factor that distinguish high intention to purchase group fro)m low intention to purchase group.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.65-80
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• 1999

In this study, the researcher studied the historical background and the traditional culture about dress and ornament of Yunnan Province of China. The Results of the study are as follows. 1. In the Past, Derung's dress was very simple due to the influence of various factors, such as geography and history. Men wore shorts and covered diagonally a piece of cloth from left shoulders to right armpits and tied up the two ends on chests. Women covered crisscross two pieces of cloth from both shoulders to knee. 2. Achang people's dress and adornment has its own unique characteristic. Generally, men wear Jackets with buttons down the front and black trousers. Unmarried men like to wear white turbans, while most of married men usually wear dark blue ones. Women usually wear tight-sleeve blouses with buttons down the front and skirts. Unmarried women wear the hair in braids coil them on the top of their heads. They wear short blouses and trousers. Married women wear their hair Into buns and like to entwine black or blue cloth into high trubans. They wear short blouses and knee-length straight skirts. Achang knife enjoys high reputation and has a long history and an exquisite workmanship. All the men like to wear it. 3. The dress and adornment of the Lahu nationality has both the characteristic of farming culture and the style of nomadic culture of early times. Men usually wear short shirts with round necks and buttons down the front, loose-legged trousers, turbans or dark blue cloth caps Women's dress and adornment can be categorized into two styles. One is black cloth gown with buttons diagonally on the right front and waist-length slits on both sides. The edges of fronts and cuffs are edged with Silver ornaments and lace. They also wear trousers. The other is short blouse with round neck and short opening on th right front, straight skirt and colourful leggings with embroidered patterns. 4. The Hani people, men and women, old and young, like black colour and are fond of wearing black clothes. Men usually wear shirts with buttons down the front and trousers, entwining their heads with black or white cloth. The elderly people wear calottes. Women wear cloth blouses, skirts and trousers or shorts. Slight differences exist in the clothing and adornments according to region, branch and age 5. Blang people's dyeing technique with an exquisite method has a long history. Men wear dark blue long sleeve shirts with round necks and buttons down the front or arranged diagonally on the front and loose-legged trousers. Elderly men wear big turbans wdress and adornment varies greatly in different regions. 6. The Lisu people culture of dress and adornment has some unique characteristics. The styles and colours of their dress and adornment differ slightly from place to place. In the Nujiang area, Women wear black velvet Jackets over blouses with buttons arranged diagonally on the right front and long pleated ramie skirts. Men usually wear wraparound ramie gowns, with center vent, made of fabrics alternated with white and black cross stripes. They also wear cloth waistbands and trohile youngsters keep their hair short. Women's users. In the Lushui area, the dress and adornment is similar to that in the Nujing region, but women wear aprons and trousers instead of skirts. 7. The Nu people dress and adornment is simple but elegant Women are proficient in ramie-weaving. Men usually wear gowns With overlapping necks, knee-length trousers and leggings. They like to wear their hair long and entwine dark blue or white turbans. Women wear black and red vests over blouses with buttons arranged diagonally on the right front and ankle-length skirts. They also wear their hair long, make it into braids, and entwine dark blue or colourful cloth turbans. 8. Pumi men usually wear ramie shirts With buttons arranged diagonally on the right front, loose trousers and white sheepskin vests. Some also wear overcoats made of "pulu". Women's dress and adornment varies in different areas. In the Lanping and Weixi regions, women wear white short blouses with buttons arranged diagonally on the front and dark brown embroidered vests. They also wear trousers and blue or black cloth turbans. In the Ninglang and Yongsheng regions, women wear hemmed blouses With buttons arranged diagonally on the right front and drape sheepskin capes. They also wear white pleated skirts and use broad colourful cloth as their waistbands.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.137-156
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• 1998

In this study, the researcher studied the historical background, and the traditional culture about dress and ornament of Yunnan Province of China, The results of the study are as follows. 1. Dress and personal ornaments of the Va peoples vary with the locality. Their traditional dress and adornment is characterized by those in the Ximeng area. Men usually wear black or dark blue collarless jackets and black and dark blue loose and short bagged trousers with folding waist. Women usually wear close-fitting sleeveless pullover blouses with V-shaped necks and straight skirts with patterns of red and black cross stripes. 2. Jingpo men have changed to wear shirts with button down the front and trousers. They also entwine white turbans with red bobbles on both ends, and carry diagonally long knives, firelocks and red woolen figured satchels on their shoulders. Women usually wear black velvet blouses with silver bowl-shaped ornaments and chains around collars and on the fronts. They also wear red straight skirts with overlapped slit on the right, waistbands and waist hoops made of rattan and bamboo. 3. The Naxi nationality has a long history and excellent traditional culture. In modern times, women like to wear red, blue or purple laced blouses, long double-layered pleated skirts, waistbands and embroidered shoes. They wear their hair in buns with either hats or kerchiefs over them. While working or going out, they put on their "seven-star" capes made of sheepskin and embroidered with two big circles and seven small ones, while is a symbol of their frog totem. 4. The dress and adorment of the Jinuo people is simple, elegant and has its own unique characteristics. Men usually wear white buttonless shirts with round necks and an opening on the front, knee-length bagged trousers and legging. They wear cloth turbans, earrings and also put small bamboo or silver pipes in the holes of their earlobes. Women wear short buttonless blouses with round necks and seven coloured stripes and thin tight-fitting or embroidered triangular underwear. 5. The dress and ardorment of the Benglong (De' ang) nationality has its own strong national colour. Most of the men wear jackets with buttons arranged diagonally on the front, loose, short trousers and black or white turbans. Some young men like to wear eardrops and silver necklaces. Women's dress and adornment differs according to various branches. For example, the women of the Bielie and Liang branches have their hair shaved and wear black turbans. They use large square silver tablets as buttons and wear blue or black blouses with buttons down the front. 6. Oai men usually wear trousers, white or blue cloth turbans and round-necked shirts with buttons down the front or arranged diagonally on the front. Women usually wear long straight skirt and blouses. But dress and adornment varies in regions. 7. The Bai nationality dress and adornment has unique national style. The dress fabrics are mainly cotton cloth, silk and velvet. Men usually wear red velvet vests over white shirts with buttons down the front or black velvet vests over light blue shirts. They also wear white of blue turbans and carry satchels with beautiful embroidered designs over their shoulders. Women usually wear red velvet vests over white blouses, or black vests over light-coloured blouses.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.239-248
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• 2010

This paper describes a collaborative project between academia and industry which focused on improving the marketing and product development strategies for two private label apparel brands of a large regional department store chain in the southeastern United States. The goal of the project was to revitalize product lines of the two brands by incorporating student ideas for new solutions, thereby giving the students practical experience with a real-life industry situation. There were a number of key players involved in the project. A privately-owned department store chain based in the southeastern United States which was seeking an academic partner had recognized a need to update two existing private label brands. They targeted middle-aged consumers looking for casual, moderately priced merchandise. The company was seeking to change direction with both packaging and presentation, and possibly product design. The branding and product development divisions of the company contacted professors in an academic department of a large southeastern state university. Two of the professors agreed that the task would be a good fit for their classes - one was a junior-level Intermediate Brand Management class; the other was a senior-level Fashion Product Development class. The professors felt that by working collaboratively on the project, students would be exposed to a real world scenario, within the security of an academic learning environment. Collaboration within an interdisciplinary team has the advantage of providing experiences and resources beyond the capabilities of a single student and adds "brainpower" to problem-solving processes (Lowman 2000). This goal of improving the capabilities of students directed the instructors in each class to form interdisciplinary teams between the Branding and Product Development classes. In addition, many universities are employing industry partnerships in research and teaching, where collaboration within temporal (semester) and physical (classroom/lab) constraints help to increase students' knowledge and experience of a real-world situation. At the University of Tennessee, the Center of Industrial Services and UT-Knoxville's College of Engineering worked with a company to develop design improvements in its U.S. operations. In this study, Because should be lower case b with a private label retail brand, Wickett, Gaskill and Damhorst's (1999) revised Retail Apparel Product Development Model was used by the product development and brand management teams. This framework was chosen because it addresses apparel product development from the concept to the retail stage. Two classes were involved in this project: a junior level Brand Management class and a senior level Fashion Product Development class. Seven teams were formed which included four students from Brand Management and two students from Product Development. The classes were taught the same semester, but not at the same time. At the beginning of the semester, each class was introduced to the industry partner and given the problem. Half the teams were assigned to the men's brand and half to the women's brand. The teams were responsible for devising approaches to the problem, formulating a timeline for their work, staying in touch with industry representatives and making sure that each member of the team contributed in a positive way. The objective for the teams was to plan, develop, and present a product line using merchandising processes (following the Wickett, Gaskill and Damhorst model) and develop new branding strategies for the proposed lines. The teams performed trend, color, fabrication and target market research; developed sketches for a line; edited the sketches and presented their line plans; wrote specifications; fitted prototypes on fit models, and developed final production samples for presentation to industry. The branding students developed a SWOT analysis, a Brand Measurement report, a mind-map for the brands and a fully integrated Marketing Report which was presented alongside the ideas for the new lines. In future if the opportunity arises to work in this collaborative way with an existing company who wishes to look both at branding and product development strategies, classes will be scheduled at the same time so that students have more time to meet and discuss timelines and assigned tasks. As it was, student groups had to meet outside of each class time and this proved to be a challenging though not uncommon part of teamwork (Pfaff and Huddleston, 2003). Although the logistics of this exercise were time-consuming to set up and administer, professors felt that the benefits to students were multiple. The most important benefit, according to student feedback from both classes, was the opportunity to work with industry professionals, follow their process, and see the results of their work evaluated by the people who made the decisions at the company level. Faculty members were grateful to have a "real-world" case to work with in the classroom to provide focus. Creative ideas and strategies were traded as plans were made, extending and strengthening the departmental links be tween the branding and product development areas. By working not only with students coming from a different knowledge base, but also having to keep in contact with the industry partner and follow the framework and timeline of industry practice, student teams were challenged to produce excellent and innovative work under new circumstances. Working on the product development and branding for "real-life" brands that are struggling gave students an opportunity to see how closely their coursework ties in with the real-world and how creativity, collaboration and flexibility are necessary components of both the design and business aspects of company operations. Industry personnel were impressed by (a) the level and depth of knowledge and execution in the student projects, and (b) the creativity of new ideas for the brands.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2010

Green or an environmental consciousness has been a major issue for businesses and government offices, as well as consumers, worldwide. In response to this movement, the Korean government announced, in the early 2000s, the era of "Green Growth" as a way to encourage green-related business activities. The Korean fashion industry, in various levels of involvement, presents diverse eco-friendly products as a part of the green movement. These apparel products include organic products and recycled clothing. For these companies to be successful, they need information about who are the consumers who consider green issues (e.g., environmental sustainability) as part of their personal values when making a decision for product purchase, use, and disposal. These consumers can be considered as eco-sumers. Previous studies have examined consumers' purchase intention for or with eco-friendly products. In addition, studies have examined influential factors used to identify the eco-sumers or green consumers. However, limited attention was paid to eco-sumers' disposal or recycling behavior of clothes in comparison with their green product purchases. Clothing disposal behaviors are ways that consumer can get rid of unused clothing and in clue temporarily lending the item or permanently eliminating the item by "handing down" (e.g., giving it to a younger sibling), donating, exchanging, selling, or simply throwing it away. Accordingly, examining purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion items in conjunction with clothing disposal behaviors should improve understanding of a consumer's clothing consumption behavior from the environmental perspective. The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide descriptive information about Korean eco-sumers who have ecologically-favorable lifestyles and behaviors when buying and disposing of clothes. The objectives of this study are to (a) categorize Koreans on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors; (b) investigate the differences in demographics, lifestyles, and clothing consumption values among segments; and (c) compare the purchase intention of eco-friendly fashion items and influential factors among segments. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. The questionnaire included 10 items of clothing disposal behavior, 22 items of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) characteristics, and 19 items of consumption values, measured by five-point Likert-type scales. In addition, the purchase intention of two eco-friendly fashion items and 11 attributes of each item were measured by seven-point Likert type scales. Two polyester fleece pullovers, made from fabric created from recycled bottles with the PET identification code, were selected from one Korean brand and one US imported brand among outdoor sportswear brands. A brief description of each product with a color picture was provided in the survey. Demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education level, income, occupation) were also included. The data were collected through a professional web survey agency during May 2009. A total of 600 final usable questionnaires were analyzed. The age of respondents ranged from 20 to 49 years old with a mean age of 34 years. Fifty percent of the respondents were males and about 58% were married, and 62% reported having earned university degrees. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the underlying dimensions of the clothing disposal behavior scale, and three factors were generated (i.e., reselling behavior, donating behavior, non-recycling behavior). To categorize the respondents on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors, k-mean cluster analysis was used, and three segments were obtained. These consumer segments were labeled as 'Resale Group', 'Donation Group', and 'Non-Recycling Group.' The classification results indicated approximately 98 percent of the original cases were correctly classified. With respect to demographic characteristics among the three segments, significant differences were found in gender, marital status, occupation, and age. LOHAS characteristics were reduced into the following five factors: self-satisfaction, family orientation, health concern, environmental concern, and voluntary service. Significant differences were found in the LOHAS factors among the three clusters. Resale Group and Donation Group showed a similar predisposition to LOHAS issues while the Non-Recycling Group presented the lowest mean scores on the LOHAS factors compared to the other segments. The Resale and Donation Groups described themselves as enjoying or being satisfied with their lives and spending spare-time with family. In addition, these two groups cared about health and organic foods, and tried to conserve energy and resources. Principal components factor analysis generated clothing consumption values into the following three factors: personal values, social value, and practical value. The ANOVA test with the factors showed differences primarily between the Resale Group and the other two groups. The Resale Group was more concerned about personal value and social value than the other segments. In contrast, the Non-Recycling Group presented the higher level of social value than did Donation Group. In a comparison of the intention to purchase eco-friendly products, the Resale Group showed the highest mean score on intent to purchase Product A. On the other hand, the Donation Group presented the highest intention to purchase for Product B among segments. In addition, the mean scores indicated that the Korean product (Product B) was more preferable for purchase than the U.S. product (Product A). Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the influence of product attributes on the purchase intention of eco product. With respect to Product A, design, price and contribution to environmental preservation were significant to predict purchase intention for the Resale Group, while price and compatibility with my image factors were significant for the Donation Group. For the Non-Recycling Group, design, price compatibility with the factors of my image, participation to eco campaign, and contribution to environmental preservation were significant. Price appropriateness was significant for each of the three clusters. With respect to Product B, design, price and compatibility with my image factors were important, but different attributes were associated significantly with purchase intention for each of the three groups. The influence of LOHAS characteristics and clothing consumption values on intention to purchase Products A and B were also examined. The LOHAS factor of health concern and the personal value factor were significant in the relationships with the purchase intention; however, the explanatory powers were low in the three segments. Findings showed that each group as classified by clothing disposal behaviors showed differences in the attributes of a product, personal values, and the LOHAS characteristics that influenced their purchase intention of eco-friendly products. Findings would enable organizations to understand eco-friendly behavior and to design appropriate strategic decisions to appeal eco-sumers.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.89-111
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• 2008

Due to the development of digital technology, studies regarding smart wear integrating daily life have rapidly increased. However, consumer research about perception and attitude toward smart clothing hardly could find. The purpose of this study was to identify innovative characteristics and perceived risk of smart clothing and to analyze the influences of theses factors on product attitudes and intention to adopt. Specifically, five hypotheses were established. H1: Perceived attributes of smart clothing except for complexity would have positive relations to product attitude or purchase intention, while complexity would be opposite. H2: Product attitude would have positive relation to purchase intention. H3: Product attitude would have a mediating effect between perceived attributes and purchase intention. H4: Perceived risks of smart clothing would have negative relations to perceived attributes except for complexity, and positive relations to complexity. H5: Product attitude would have a mediating effect between perceived risks and purchase intention. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. After pretest, the data were collected during September, 2006, from university students in Korea who were relatively sensitive to innovative products. A total of 300 final useful questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS 13.0 program. About 60.3% were male with the mean age of 21.3 years old. About 59.3% reported that they were aware of smart clothing, but only 9 respondents purchased it. The mean of attitudes toward smart clothing and purchase intention was 2.96 (SD=.56) and 2.63 (SD=.65) respectively. Factor analysis using principal components with varimax rotation was conducted to identify perceived attribute and perceived risk dimensions. Perceived attributes of smart wear were categorized into relative advantage (including compatibility), observability (including triability), and complexity. Perceived risks were identified into physical/performance risk, social psychological risk, time loss risk, and economic risk. Regression analysis was conducted to test five hypotheses. Relative advantage and observability were significant predictors of product attitude (adj $R^2$=.223) and purchase intention (adj $R^2$=.221). Complexity showed negative influence on product attitude. Product attitude presented significant relation to purchase intention (adj $R^2$=.692) and partial mediating effect between perceived attributes and purchase intention (adj $R^2$=.698). Therefore hypothesis one to three were accepted. In order to test hypothesis four, four dimensions of perceived risk and demographic variables (age, gender, monthly household income, awareness of smart clothing, and purchase experience) were entered as independent variables in the regression models. Social psychological risk, economic risk, and gender (female) were significant to predict relative advantage (adj $R^2$=.276). When perceived observability was a dependent variable, social psychological risk, time loss risk, physical/performance risk, and age (younger) were significant in order (adj $R^2$=.144). However, physical/performance risk was positively related to observability. The more Koreans seemed to be observable of smart clothing, the more increased the probability of physical harm or performance problems received. Complexity was predicted by product awareness, social psychological risk, economic risk, and purchase experience in order (adj $R^2$=.114). Product awareness was negatively related to complexity, meaning high level of product awareness would reduce complexity of smart clothing. However, purchase experience presented positive relation with complexity. It appears that consumers can perceive high level of complexity when they are actually consuming smart clothing in real life. Risk variables were positively related with complexity. That is, in order to decrease complexity, it is also necessary to consider minimizing anxiety factors about social psychological wound or loss of money. Thus, hypothesis 4 was partially accepted. Finally, in testing hypothesis 5, social psychological risk and economic risk were significant predictors for product attitude (adj $R^2$=.122) and purchase intention (adj $R^2$=.099) respectively. When attitude variable was included with risk variables as independent variables in the regression model to predict purchase intention, only attitude variable was significant (adj $R^2$=.691). Thus attitude variable presented full mediating effect between perceived risks and purchase intention, and hypothesis 5 was accepted. Findings would provide guidelines for fashion and electronic businesses who aim to create and strengthen positive attitude toward smart clothing. Marketers need to consider not only functional feature of smart clothing, but also practical and aesthetic attributes, since appropriateness for social norm or self image would reduce uncertainty of psychological or social risk, which increase relative advantage of smart clothing. Actually social psychological risk was significantly associated to relative advantage. Economic risk is negatively associated with product attitudes as well as purchase intention, suggesting that smart-wear developers have to reflect on price ranges of potential adopters. It will be effective to utilize the findings associated with complexity when marketers in US plan communication strategy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1560-1570
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences according to lifestyle in anthropometric measurement, dietary attitude, health-related behaviors and nutrient intake among the college students. The subjects were 994 nation-wide college students (male: 385, female: 609) and divided into 7 clusters (PEAO: passive economy/appearance-oriented type, NCPR: non-consumption/pursuit of relationship type, PTA: pursuit of traditional actuality type, PAT: pursuit of active health type, UO: utility-oriented type, POF: pursuit of open fashion type, PFR: pursuit of family relations type). A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self administered questionnaire, and the data were collected via Internet or by mail. The nutrient intake data collected from food record were analyzed by the Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis Program. Data were analyzed by a SPSS 12.0 program. Average age of male and female college students were 23.7 years and 21.6 years, respectively. Most of the college students had poor eating habits. In particular, about 60% of the PEAO group has irregularity in meal time. The students in PAH and POF groups showed significantly higher consumption frequency of fruits, meat products and foods cooked with oil compared to the other groups. As for exercise, drinking and smoking, there were significant differences between PAH and the other groups. Asked for the reason for body weight control, 16.2% of NCPR group answered "for health", but 24.8% of PEAO group and 26.3% of POF group answered "for appearance". Calorie, vitamin A, vitamin $B_2$, calcium and iron intakes of all the groups were lower than the Korean DRIs. Female students in PTA group showed significantly lower vitamin $B_1$ and niacin intakes compared to the PFR group. Therefore, these results provide nation-wide information on health-related behaviors and nutrient intake according to lifestyles among Korean college students.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.4-25
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• 2013

Goli-su is the innovative special kind of the embroidery technique, which combines twining and interlacing skill with metal technology and makes the loops woven to each other with a strand. The loops floating on the space of the ground look like floating veins of sculpture and give people the feeling of the openwork. This kind of characteristic has some similarities with the lacework craft of Western Europe in texture and technique style, but it has its own features different from that of Western Europe. It mainly represents the splendid gloss with metallic materials in the Embroidered cloth, such as gold foil or wire. In the 10th century, early days of Goryo, we can see the basic Goli-su structure form of its initial period in the boy motif embroidery purse unearthed from the first level of Octagonal Nine-storied Pagoda of Woljeong-sa. In the Middle period of Joseon, there are several pieces of Goli-su embroidered relic called "Battle Flag of Goryo", which was taken by the Japanese in 1592 and is now in the Japanese temple. This piece is now converted into altar-table covers. In 18~19th century, two pairs of embroidered pillows in Joseon palace were kept intact, whose time and source are very accurate. The frame of the pillows was embroidered with Goli-su veins, and some gold foil papers were inserted into the inside. The triangle motif with silk was embroidered on the pillow. The stitch in the Needle-Looped embroidery is divided into three kinds according to comprehensive classification: 1. Goli-su ; 2. Goli-Kamgi-su ; 3. Goli-Saegim-su. From the 10th century newly establishing stage to the 13th century, Goli-su has appeared variational stitches and employed 2~3 dimensional color schemes gradually. According to the research of this thesis, we can still see this stitch in the embroidery pillow, which proves that Goli-suwas still kept in Korea in the 19th century. And in terms of the research achievement of this thesis, Archetype technology of Goli-su was restored. Han Sang-soo, Important Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 80 and Master of Embroidery already recreated the Korean relics of Goli-su in Joseon Dynasty. The Needle-Looped embriodery is the overall technological result of ancestral outstanding Metal craft, Twining and Interlacing craft, and Embroidery art. We should inherit, create, and seek the new direction in modern multi-dimensional and international industry societyon the basis of these research results. We can inherit the long history of embroidering, weaving, fiber processing, and expand the applications of other craft industries, and develop new advanced additional values of new dress material, fashion technology, ornament craft and artistic design. Thus, other crafts assist each other and broaden the expressive field to pursue more diversified formative beauty and beautify our life abundantly together.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.127-156
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• 2012

A lot of interest in the baby-boomer generation, those who were born after World War II, has emerged since their retirement has been accelerated. The retirement of baby-boomers has caused many health, public welfare, social policy and family relationship problems. However, their increased purchasing power has made them more attractive consumers than any other generation, and they have become a fascinating niche market in the depressed economy. This research selected middle-class women of the baby-boomer generation who have had powerful effects on society and have emerged as an attractive niche market, and attempted to understand their lives intensively. Based on research activities, the purpose of this research is to identify baby-boomer generation middle-aged women's life values. Qualitative research methodology was used to achieve research objectives, and this research aimed to suggest marketing implications to connected industries based on the research results. The research objectives are as follows. 1. understanding the lives of baby-boomer middle-class women who have powerful effects on socio-economic phenomena 2. identifying the life values of baby-boomer middle-class women 3. generating marketing implications based on an understanding of baby-boomer middle-class women's lives and life values This research conducted FGIs(focus group interviews), one of the qualitative research methodologies, to figure out baby-boomer middle-class women's life values intensively and selected 10 women living in Seoul for data collection. The qualitative data of collected FGIs were analyzed with spiral data analysis methodology proposed by Creswell(2007). The most effective factors to influence these middle-class women's lives powerfully were 'time' and 'independence'. Their consciousness of the importance of using time affects their life pattern generally, and their independence also impacts greatly on the way they exploit time and on their diverse relationships. They maximized their self-realization and showed long-term partnership with their surrounding circumstances because of those effective factors. Baby-boomer middle-class women's self-realization was divided into two areas. One was their outside activities and another was perfect management of their physical appearance and home interior. Like the results of this research, their need for social entrance will be reinforced more strongly since their internal and external activities aim for the achievement of self-realization. In addition, this research suggests that baby-boomer middle-class women's activities are connected with their management of their physical appearance and home interior decorations, and that such management is caused not only by a simple interest in fashion and beauty but also a profound desire for self-realization. On account of their consciousness, which is different from other generations, Korean baby-boomer middle-class women are able to maintain positive partnerships with their surrounding circumstances; however, they also show ambivalent emotions to retain effective partnerships. To overcome those stressful situations, they make greater efforts to keep up their health and youth, and also engage in diverse activities to maintain their mental health. Finally, they generate positive attitudes toward their economic situation and extra time to develop self-realization and pursue happy, youthful and healthy lives. Based on those results, this study suggests the following implications. First, industries targeting the baby-boomer generation should develop innovative products and services which help the baby-boomer generation maximize their efficiency of time since time is one of the most important factors powerfully impacting the baby-boomer generation. They will engage in various activities to fill up their extra time and consume helpful products and services. Second, such industries should supply the baby-boomer generation with opportunities which propose new ways of self-realization since this generation shows a great desire for self-realization because of their self-efficacy. With customized strategies of satisfying their needs, the baby-boomer generation would discover opportunities to utilize their abilities, relationships and aesthetic senses, and industries would develop a niche market. Third, market segmentations which target the baby-boomer generation's desire to maintain their physical appearance and home interior should be executed since such activities are the main strategies to develop this generation's self-realization. The baby-boomer generation's desire to study those areas would be expanded, and those education systems should produce innovative products and services targeting the baby-boomer generation. This implication also offers to government officials new policies related with the baby-boomer generation. This exploratory study utilized qualitative research methodology to understand baby-boomer middle-class women's lives, and proposed propositions and limitations for further researches. As for the limitations, first, it is hard to generalize the research results so that they may apply to all areas and economic classes of the baby-boomer generation since this research selected only 10 women living in Seoul for the data collection process. To overcome this limitation, extended data collections of subjects from diverse regions and economic classes should be designed. Second, quantitative research should be conducted to supplement the findings with validities. Third, this research focused on only general ideas of the baby-boomer generation's lives since the range of this study was focused on their overall lives. Therefore, intensive research related to specific areas of their lives should be conducted.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.63-92
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• 2012

This study investigated consumer intention to use a location-based mobile shopping service (LBMSS) that integrates cognitive and affective responses. Information relevancy was integrated into pleasure-arousal-dominance (PAD) emotional state model in the present study as a conceptual framework. The results of an online survey of 335 mobile phone users in the U.S. indicated the positive effects of arousal and information relevancy on pleasure. In addition, there was a significant relationship between pleasure and intention to use a LBMSS. However, the relationship between dominance and pleasure was not statistically significant. The results of the present study provides insight to retailers and marketers as to what factors they need to consider to implement location-based mobile shopping services to improve their business performance. Extended Abstract : Location aware technology has expanded the marketer's reach by reducing space and time between a consumer's receipt of advertising and purchase, offering real-time information and coupons to consumers in purchasing situations (Dickenger and Kleijnen, 2008; Malhotra and Malhotra, 2009). LBMSS increases the relevancy of SMS marketing by linking advertisements to a user's location (Bamba and Barnes, 2007; Malhotra and Malhotra, 2009). This study investigated consumer intention to use a location-based mobile shopping service (LBMSS) that integrates cognitive and affective response. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship among information relevancy and affective variables and their effects on intention to use LBMSS. Thus, information relevancy was integrated into pleasure-arousal-dominance (PAD) model and generated the following hypotheses. Hypothesis 1. There will be a positive influence of arousal concerning LBMSS on pleasure in regard to LBMSS. Hypothesis 2. There will be a positive influence of dominance in LBMSS on pleasure in regard to LBMSS. Hypothesis 3. There will be a positive influence of information relevancy on pleasure in regard to LBMSS. Hypothesis 4. There will be a positive influence of pleasure about LBMSS on intention to use LBMSS. E-mail invitations were sent out to a randomly selected sample of three thousand consumers who are older than 18 years old and mobile phone owners, acquired from an independent marketing research company. An online survey technique was employed utilizing Dillman's (2000) online survey method and follow-ups. A total of 335 valid responses were used for the data analysis in the present study. Before the respondents answer any of the questions, they were told to read a document describing LBMSS. The document included definitions and examples of LBMSS provided by various service providers. After that, they were exposed to a scenario describing the participant as taking a saturday shopping trip to a mall and then receiving a short message from the mall. The short message included new product information and coupons for same day use at participating stores. They then completed a questionnaire containing various questions. To assess arousal, dominance, and pleasure, we adapted and modified scales used in the previous studies in the context of location-based mobile shopping service, each of the five items from Mehrabian and Russell (1974). A total of 15 items were measured on a seven-point bipolar scale. To measure information relevancy, four items were borrowed from Mason et al. (1995). Intention to use LBMSS was captured using two items developed by Blackwell, and Miniard (1995) and one items developed by the authors. Data analyses were conducted using SPSS 19.0 and LISREL 8.72. A total of usable 335 data were obtained after deleting the incomplete responses, which results in a response rate of 11.20%. A little over half of the respondents were male (53.9%) and approximately 60% of respondents were married (57.4%). The mean age of the sample was 29.44 years with a range from 19 to 60 years. In terms of the ethnicity there were European Americans (54.5%), Hispanic American (5.3%), African-American (3.6%), and Asian American (2.9%), respectively. The respondents were highly educated; close to 62.5% of participants in the study reported holding a college degree or its equivalent and 14.5% of the participants had graduate degree. The sample represents all income categories: less than $24,999 (10.8%), $25,000-$49,999 (28.34%), $50,000-$74,999 (13.8%), and $75,000 or more (10.23%). The respondents of the study indicated that they were employed in many occupations. Responses came from all 42 states in the U.S. To identify the dimensions of research constructs, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using a varimax rotation was conducted. As indicated in table 1, these dimensions: arousal, dominance, relevancy, pleasure, and intention to use, suggested by the EFA, explained 82.29% of the total variance with factor loadings ranged from .74 to .89. As a next step, CFA was conducted to validate the dimensions that were identified from the exploratory factor analysis and to further refine the scale. Table 1 exhibits the results of measurement model analysis and revealed a chi-square of 202.13 with degree-of-freedom of 89 (p =.002), GFI of .93, AGFI = .89, CFI of .99, NFI of .98, which indicates of the evidence of a good model fit to the data (Bagozzi and Yi, 1998; Hair et al., 1998). As table 1 shows, reliability was estimated with Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR) for all multi-item scales. All the values met evidence of satisfactory reliability in multi-item measure for alpha (>.91) and CR (>.80). In addition, we tested the convergent validity of the measure using average variance extracted (AVE) by following recommendations from Fornell and Larcker (1981). The AVE values for the model constructs ranged from .74 through .85, which are higher than the threshold suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981). To examine discriminant validity of the measure, we again followed the recommendations from Fornell and Larcker (1981). The shared variances between constructs were smaller than the AVE of the research constructs and confirm discriminant validity of the measure. The causal model testing was conducted using LISREL 8.72 with a maximum-likelihood estimation method. Table 2 shows the results of the hypotheses testing. The results for the conceptual model revealed good overall fit for the proposed model. Chi-square was 342.00 (df = 92, p =.000), NFI was .97, NNFI was .97, GFI was .89, AGFI was .83, and RMSEA was .08. All paths in the proposed model received significant statistical support except H2. The paths from arousal to pleasure (H1: ${\ss}$=.70; t = 11.44), from information relevancy to intention to use (H3 ${\ss}$ =.12; t = 2.36), from information relevancy to pleasure (H4 ${\ss}$ =.15; t = 2.86), and pleasure to intention to use (H5: ${\ss}$=.54; t = 9.05) were significant. However, the path from dominance to pleasure was not supported. This study investigated consumer intention to use a location-based mobile shopping service (LBMSS) that integrates cognitive and affective responses. Information relevancy was integrated into pleasure-arousal-dominance (PAD) emotional state model as a conceptual framework. The results of the present study support previous studies indicating that emotional responses as well as cognitive responses have a strong impact on accepting new technology. The findings of this study suggest potential marketing strategies to mobile service developers and retailers who are considering the implementation of LBMSS. It would be rewarding to develop location-based mobile services that integrate information relevancy and which cause positive emotional responses.